Stunted Growth
by Afro Thunder 95
Summary: Courage. Intelligence. Growth. Both Nightopians and Nightmaren alike see them as the three most important Ideya to possess. Young Visitors lacking them aren't uncommon, but one troubled Visitor seems to have constant trouble grasping Growth and Courage. Or, rather, he's avoiding them entirely. "I'm ten years behind in everything. I'll be twenty-eight before I leave this house."


_Gary, Indiana, 1966._

" **Dammit!** you were off time _again!_ I already told you 'bout messing up your routine, boy!"

A little boy, who was no older than eight, looked up at the older man in fear. He and his brothers had been rehearsing their routines since the early morning that day, with very little rest in-between. The boy had gotten exhausted from the non-stop dancing and singing, and had inevitably began making mistakes during the routines, much to his father's chagrin. Although he tried to get back into the rhythm, he was too exhausted to keep up the pace, and kept messing up his steps and singing off key, which only made his father angrier.

"I'm sorry!" the boy cried, knowing the inevitable was going to happen. "I won't do it again, I'm so-!"

"You're damn right you won't do it again! Go outside and get a switch!"

"But dad-"

" **No 'buts!'** " the father bellowed. "Get a switch, _now_!"

Holding back tears, the boy sighed and walked towards the front door of their bungalow, resigned to his fate. His brothers somberly watched him walk out the door, but didn't protest, lest they also face their father's wrath.

Walking down the steps and towards their "Whipping Tree," as the brothers came to know it, he thought about all the beatings he and his brothers had gotten simply for messing up a step over the past two years. According to his dad, it was the only way they were ever going learn how to not mess up. Their mother had objected to their father's harsh style of discipline multiple times, but he always overruled her, and the beatings would continue.

From the boy's perspective, the only reason he and his brothers kept trying to improve their skills so much was more out of fear of a beating from their dad rather than actual improvement. Getting hit with their father's belt was one thing, but a switch typically hurt more. And nobody got as many beatings as he did. He often tried to fight back, but it only resulted in more severe beatings.

Peeling off a rather thick branch off the tree and ripping the leaves off it, the boy walked back to his house, dreading the beating that was awaiting him. He walked back up the steps, and opened up the house door.

As he walked in, he felt an odd sensation go through his body. He thought it was fear from the impending beating. His brothers looked at him with emotionless expressions, which made the little boy feel even more nervous. His father, on the other hand, still had his intimidating glare from earlier.

"Git your ass over here _now_ , boy!" he growled in a near-demonic voice.

The young boy took a step back in fear. The sensation came back, stronger than before. It felt as if it was tugging him away, trying to get him to run away.

"Are you _deaf_ , boy?!" the father shouted, his voice becoming less human the louder he shouted. "Don't make me come over there!"

The boy took another step back. He had feared his father before, but this was different. It was as if something had possessed him.

Suddenly, his father's eyes glowed red. the boy's eyes widened in shock. He turned to his brothers, only to see that their eyes were glowing as well, and they had unnatural smiles on their faces. Before he could react, their bodies dissolved into black, mist-like monsters, laughing manically.

The boy screamed in horror at what he just witnessed. He looked back at his dad, and saw that he had became a monster as well. The mysterious sensation came back again, forcefully trying to tug him away again. This time, he heeded it, and ran out the house as fast as he could without a second thought, not looking back. The monsters swiftly gave chase after him, intending to kill him.

As the boy ran, the world around him disappeared and turned into a dark, black void. The boy was taken aback, but didn't stop running. The monsters were hot on his heels, making attempts to grab him, but the boy was too fast. He kept weaving around their misty hands each time they tried to catch him. the boy didn't know what to think or do, besides to keep running. He had always read things in the bible about Satan and his demons devouring people's souls. Was he their next target?

After what seemed like an hour of nonstop running, A bright light began to shine in front of him. the boy ran towards it, hoping the light would help him escape. The monsters realized what was happening, and they started getting more aggressive in their attempts to capture him. But the light began to shine brighter, causing the monsters to recoil. It was too pure for them to go up against, forcing them to retreat.

The boy ran faster towards the mysterious light. The sensation that was tugging at him earlier was now pulling him towards the light. It felt warm, welcoming. The ebbing darkness around him was overtaken by the white light. Feeling certain that he had escaped the monsters, he closed his eyes and collapsed onto his hands and knees from exhaustion. A million different thoughts were going through his mind. Namely, where was he, and what just happened? Was he dreaming? Was his mother alright? His sisters? Where did the monsters come from? One thing was for certain: He was scared out of his wits from the situation.

"Hoo! I say, are you alright, young man?" A voice called out to the exhausted eight-year-old.

The boy, still exhausted, didn't bother to look up to the person addressing him, but he managed to pant out, "Monsters... Red eyes... Chased me... Tried to kill me... Don't know... where my brothers... Dad..."

"Oh, you poor thing," the voice sympathized. "You must have had an awful nightmare, hoo!. But fret not! You're safe here in the Dream Gate."

"Dream... Gate?" the boy asked, confused.

"Why yes. A dreamer who is powerful enough can bypass their dreams, regardless if they are good dreams or nightmares, can bypass their dreams and come straight to the Dream Gate."

"I'm not sure if I understand..." The boy picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. When he finally lifted his head to address the person he was talking to, he was shocked to see it was not actually a person, but a flying owl. He wore a red jacket with a blue vest underneath, and had small glasses resting on his beak.

The owl simply laughed at the young boy's reaction to his appearance. "Don't worry," the owl reassured. "I won't harm you at all. I'm the guardian of the Dream Gate. I protect Visitors and their Ideya from all of the creatures of Nightmare."

"Wait a second," the boy said, utterly lost. "I have no idea what your talkin' about with all this stuff. Ideya? Creatures of Nightmare? Dream Gate? Am I just sleeping, or am I in a whole different world?"

The owl ruffled his feathers and cleared his throat before continuing. "The answer to that question is both 'yes' and 'no'," the owl explained. "This place, the place where both your dreams and nightmares play out each night is called the Night Dimension. You were partially correct when you said you were in a different world, but Visitors - which would be you, since you're from the waking world - can only visit the Night Dimension while they're asleep. In the Night Dimension, there are two separate areas: Nightopia and Nightmare."

The young boy sat back down on the ground, taking in everything the owl was saying. He was actually in a whole different world!

"Now," the owl continued. "Nightmare, as you would guess by its name, is self-explanatory. All of your bad dreams take place in Nightmare, and the creatures that you encountered in your dream are its residents. The ones you've encountered are probably nothing compared to the most powerful ones created by Wizeman himself."

"Wizeman? Who's he?"

"The creator and lord over all of Nightmare. He and his creatures have the power to use your dreams to their advantage and take away your Ideya."

The boy was about to ask what Ideya was, but the owl had predicted this, and continued to talk. "Ideya is the source of Nightopia. 'Dream energy,' if you will. The places that your subconscious creates in your dreams while you sleep. Every place that you create with your Ideya in Nightopia is a reflection of your soul, be it happiness, sadness, or anything in-between. Normally, when a visitor has a nightmare and tries to escape to the Dream Gate, the Nightmarens try to steal it."

"But why would they want it in the first place?" The boy asked.

"To destroy Nightopia," the owl stated simply. "Ideya not only creates Nightopia, but it also represents a Visitor's consciousness. There are five types of Ideya, each represented by a different colour. Blue represents intelligence, white represents purity, yellow for hope, green for growth, and red for courage. A red Ideya is the most powerful of the five Ideya, and is also the rarest for a Visitor to possess. The only Nightmaren capable of even touching a red Ideya is Wizeman himself. Intelligence and growth are only second to the power of courage."

The owl cleared his throat once more. "I understand this is a lot to take in, especially for someone as young as you, hoo! So if you have any more questions about the Night Dimensions, I will be happy to answer them."

"Just a couple," said the boy, scratching the back of his head. He really wanted to know everything possible about the Night Dimension, but he didn't want to be a bother to the owl. "How do I know what Ideya the Nightmarens took, and what they didn't?"

"Typically in the Night Dimension, A Visitor can see what Ideya they have by looking at their hands," the owl explained. "The more colours that emit from your hands, the more Ideya you possess."

The boy raised a skeptical eyebrow, but decided to look at his hands anyway. At first, nothing out of the ordinary happened. But after a few moments, his hands began to glow a bright white. The boy's eyes widened in amazement.

"Wow..." He whispered to himself.

"Hoo! It seems that you managed to keep your Ideya of purity!" the owl observed. "Not an easy feat coming straight from Nightmare! You must be a very kind hearted boy!"

The boy meekly scratched the back of his head. He didn't show it, but he felt a sense of pride from being complimented on his kindness.

"Eheh, well... Anyway, my second question is, are all Nightmaren creatures evil?"

"All but one," a feminine sounding voice said.

The boy jumped in surprise, and instinctively looked behind himself, but didn't see anyone there. He turned back to the owl, who was looking up towards the sky. The boy followed his line of sight, wondering what he was looking at.

Above them, hovering in the sky, was a jester-like creature clad in purple floating high in the air. The boy looked at her in amazement, he had never seen anything quite like it.

"Who's that?" the boy asked the owl.

"That's NiGHTS," the owl said. "She is a first level Nightmaren; the most powerful of Wizeman's underlings. Many years ago, she had rebelled against Wizeman and his plans to destroy Nightopia. Ever since then, she has dedicated her life to protecting the Night Dimension from Wizeman's terror."

"He didn't try and kill her?"

"Oh, he has many times. But as I said, NiGHTS is one of Wizeman's most powerful creations, not to mention the Night Dimension's greatest flyer. None of his other creations have been able to capture her."

NiGHTS flew down towards the boy, sparkles following behind her as she twirled around. "Are you boring our new visitor with all of your lectures, Owl?" she giggled in a British accent. She landed next to the boy, resting her hands on her hips. The boy couldn't help but stare at the Nightmaren in awe. A bright magenta vest covered her chest, which complimented her purple tights and hat. A red jewel that was embedded into her chest shone brightly.

"Oh hush, you rascal!" the owl chuckled. "I'll have you know that this young man has been has been quite an attentive fellow!" the owl adjusted his glasses.

"Oh, I'm _sure_ ," NiGHTS playfully mocked. She turned her attention to the boy. "Tell you what, kid! Instead of listening to this ol' blowhard yak your ear off all night, why don't you come fly with me?"

"Fly?!" the boy said excitedly. "You serious?"

"Of course. All you have to do is dualize with me!"

"Dualize? How do I do that?"

NiGHTS extended out a hand. "Simple. All you have to do is touch me, and I'll do the rest. We'll be sharing my body, but you'll be the one in control if you choose to be."

The young boy looked down at the white-gloved hand hesitantly. "Will it hurt?" he asked.

"Not at all!" NiGHTS assured. "Just touch my hand and we'll be in the sky in no time at all!"

"Okay..." Slowly, the boy lifted his hand up and placed it on top of NiGHTS'. Suddenly, everything around him went white, and for a moment, he blacked out. When everything came back into view, he found himself staring at the spot he was originally sitting. He was inside NiGHTS' body!

"Yes! It worked!" He heard the sound of NiGHTS' voice fill his mind. "Now that we're officially dualized, why don't I show you everything there is to see around the Dream Gate?"

"That'd be awesome! Let's fly!"

And fly they did. NiGHTS, dazzling her guest with her amazing acrobatic moves, showed him everything, from the various gates to Nightopia, to some of the hidden areas not normally explored by Visitors, and eventually the ethereal great black ocean that surrounded the Gate.

"Make sure you never go anywhere near that black ocean," NiGHTS warned the boy as they flew over it. "It's a direct portal to Nightmare. Any Visitor who goes into it will be trapped in a non-stop nightmare they'll never wake up from."

"You mean I could never return to the Dream Gate _or_ my own world?" asked the boy, scared.

"Precisely," the 'Maren confirmed. "With that being said, I think you've had enough scares for the night. Let's get you back to the Gate."

The duo flew away from the dark ocean, and back up to the Dream Gate's courtyard, where the owl was waiting. When they landed, NiGHTS broke the dualization, and the boy reappeared in his own body.

"That. Was. AMAZING!" The boy shouted with glee. "Can we do that again, NiGHTS?"

"I'm afraid there isn't much time for any more flying," the owl said, pulling out a pocket watch. "It's almost time for you to wake up."

"Already?!" whined NiGHTS and the boy simultaneously.

"Unfortunately so. However, where there's a new day, there's a new night. You're more than welcome to return to the Dream Gate as much as you'd like."

The boy smiled excitedly. He couldn't wait to see NiGHTS again!

"I hope you do come back!" NiGHTS said cheerfully. "You've been one of the more pleasant Visitors we've had lately!"

"I plan on it!" the boy exclaimed. Suddenly, his body began to fade away. He started to panic, until NiGHTS touched his shoulders.

"Relax, you're just waking up!" she reassured him. "Once your body fades out completely, you'll be back in the Waking World. You'll be fine!"

The boy, relived by NiGHTS' words, calmed down. He looked up at the Nightmaren and smiled. "Thank you for such a great dream!" he said.

"Anytime..." NiGHTS began. She realized that she know his name at all. "Wait! Before you go back, what's your name?"

"Oh, darn!" said the owl, slapping his head with a wing. "I completely forgot to ask for his name!"

"it's alright, Mister Owl," the boy said, still smiling. "My name's Michael. Michael Jackson."

"I'm NiGHTS, as you already know," the Nightmaren smiled back. "The talkative bird over there is Owl, as you might have guessed. See ya tomorrow kid."

The now-named Michael waved to NiGHTS and Owl until he was completely gone from the Dream Gate.

"He's definitely seems like an interesting Visitor, I'd say," Owl observed. "It's not often that a Visitor keeps their Ideya of Purity during a nightmare."

"He seems like a nice kid, so that's fitting," NiGHTS agreed. "Though I can't shake the feeling something's going to happen to him in the waking world."

"Good or bad?" Owl questioned.

"Honestly? I'm not even sure."

* * *

 ** _Hm, what's this now?  
_**

 ** _Another new story, though this one is gonna have slow-ish updates so I can focus on the others._**

 ** _Peace,_**

 ** _SJ_**


End file.
